Arguably, the most substantial difference between “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” book and the movie lies in the alterations to tribute deaths. While characters such as Marcus (Jerome Lance), Bobbin (Knox Gibson), Coral (Mackenzie Lansing), and Jessup (Nick Benson) see relatively consistent portrayals between the two, others like Reaper (Dimitri Abold), Dill (Luna Steeples), Wovey (Sofia Sanchez), and Treech (Hiroki Berrecloth) meet different fates in the movie compared to their counterparts in the book. These deviations stem largely from the structural shifts in the progression of the games between the two mediums. One notable factor contributing to these changes is the timing of the deployment of Dr. Gaul’s snakes. In the book, the snakes are unleashed earlier in the games, while in the movie, they make a late entrance and play a pivotal role in concluding the competition, ultimately leading to Lucy Gray’s victory.
While in the book, Lucy Gray slips a snake down Treech’s back to kill him, echoing her earlier reaping day antics, the movie takes a different approach, portraying Lucy Gray dusting poison on Treech’s face through an air vent. Additionally, the film introduces a deviation in Lucy Gray’s use of poison on Dill, an unintended act, while in the book, Dill succumbs to her tuberculosis. The source material also had Wovey falling victim to Lucy Gray’s poison, yet in the movie, Wovey’s demise is a result of the snakes introduced by Dr. Gaul. Finally, Reaper’s demise serves as the concluding death in the book, where Lucy Gray poisons a puddle he drinks from. However, in the movie, his fate aligns with the others as he succumbs to the snakes.
